Method of making shoes



April 16, 1935. I S J. FINN 7 1,997,722

. METHOD .OF MAKING SHOES Filed July 26, 1955 v F1 1. be

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 1,997,722 J METHOD or MAKING SHOES Sidney J. Finn, Beverly,

Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Paterson, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Application July 26, 1933, Serial No. 682,236

6 Claims.

This invention relates to shoes I and to the manufacture thereof and is illustrated herein with reference to the manufacture of shoes having cement-attached outsoles. I

.In the manufacture of shoes in which outsoles are attached bycement it is customary to locate the sole and shoe relatively to each other on a presser unit or pad and to apply pressure to force the sole against the shoe bottom and to hold it in such position while the sole attaching cement is setting. It is highly desirable in this operation that some means be provided to prevent displacement of the outsole relatively to the shoe bottom prior to and during the application of the sole-attaching pressure. This is especially true when pyroxylin cement is used for attaching the outsole to the shoe since this cement must be and slipping movement between the sole and the. shoe is apt to result during the sole-attaching operation.

The present invention in one of its aspects aims to eliminate the slipping referred to above. As herein illustrated, gritty material is applied to the shoe bottom or to-the attachingface of the outsole before the shoe and ,outsole' are brought together so thatthe. friction produced by the gritty material will tend to hold the out sole in the position in which'it has been placed and will prevent it from slipping on the shoe bottom during the pressure applying operation. As illustrated, this gritty friction producing material preferably extends over the area between the over-lasted margins of the shoe upper at the forepart of the shoe and covers a considerable portion of the shoe bottom.

The friction producing material preferably consists of a thin sheet of sandpaper or similar gritty material which can be easily applied to the shoe bottom without unduly increasing the thickness thereof. The sandpaper may have only its upper or exposed surface sanded or, if desired, it may have sanded surfaces on both sides. The invention also contemplates sprinkling a granular or gritty material such as sand on the filling material of a shoe bottom to render it gritty. When the outsole is placed on the shoe bottom the gritty material on the filler will engage the outsole and hold it in the position in which it has been placed, thereby practically eliminating any tendency of the sole to slip or move relatively to the shoe bottom priorto or during the pressure applying operation.

The above and other aspects of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing and pointed outin the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a view of the bottom of a shoe embodying the present invention; and- Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section of the shoe and an outsole receiving sole-attaching pressure.

.lln practicing the present method of making shoes an insole l0 and an upper I2 are assembled on a last 54 in the usual manner and a suitable cement, such as latex, is introduced between the marginal portions of the layers of the upper ma terials and is also applied to the marginal portion of the insole It. The portion of the upper 2 forwardly of the heel breast line is then worked over the edge of the insole in the usual manner and is temporarily secured in lasted relation by tracks or staples while the cement is setting. The heel portion of the shoe upper should also be worked over the edge of the insole and secured in lasted position to the insole preferably by tacks ll with the aid of the wellknown bed lasting machine, although other methods may be used if desired.

7 After the cement has set the temporary upper fastening means which are located forwardly of the heel breast line are removed and the overlasted margins of the upper are scoured or roughened, as shown in Fig. 1, to provide a surface suitable to receive the sole-attaching cement. The roughened margins of the shoe upper are now coated with pyroxylin or other suitable cement and an outsole l6 has the marginal portions of its inner or attaching face similarly treated, the cement on both parts being then allowed to dry. If necessary or desirable bottom filling material may be applied to the shoe bottom to fill in the hollow space between the inner edges of the overlasted margins of the upper, the shoe being then ready to receive the outsole. Before the outsole i6 is positioned on the shoe bottom, however, a sheet or layer of gritty friction-producing material is, such as sand or emery paper or cloth, is placed on the shoe bottom at the forepart of the shoe, this material, as illustrated in Fig. 1, being placed on and preferably covering the bottom filling material, if used, and extending over a substantial part of the forward portion of the shoe bottom.

The purpose of introducing the layer of gritty friction-producing material i8 between the insole I0 and the outsole IE is to prevent displacement of the outsole relatively to the shoe by slipping upon the shoe bottom after the sole has been properly located thereon prior to and during the sole pressing operation.- The engagement of the inner face of the outsole with the gritty frictionproducing surface provided by the sand or emery paper, cloth or similar material, produces sufficient friction between the shoe parts to prevent slipping of thesole on the shoe bottom after the attaching cement has been softened by a solvent and the sole is being pressed against the shoe, the softened cement, of course, acting to facilitate rather than to prevent slipping movement between the sole and shoe bottom. If the filler material on the shoe bottom is of a soft and tacky nature it will be unnecessary to stick or otherwise secure the sandpaper or other gritty material to the shoe bottom. If the filler material is not of tacky nature or if no filler material is used in the shoe bottom, the sandpaper may be cemented or otherwise secured to the insole to hold it in proper position.

The sole attaching cement on the overlasted marginal portions of the upper and upon the margins 01'' the inner face of the outsole is now activated by a suitable solvent such as acetone and the shoe and sole are properly located with respect to each other by hand or in any other convenient manner on a pressure applying unit arranged to apply sole-attaching pressure to the shoe and sole. A machine by which this pressure may be conveniently applied is shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,897,105, granted February 14, 1933, on an application filed in the name of Milton H. Ballard, the machine being provided with an inflatable pressure-applying pad, indicated in the drawing by the numeral 20, and last and shoe engaging abutments 22 and 24 for holding the shoe and sole up on the pad while the sole-attaching pressure is being applied. Fig. 2 illustrates the shoe and sole properly located on the pressure applying pad of the sole-attaching machine referred to with the last and shoe engaging abutments 22, 24 contacting respectively with the last and shoe.

Another way to prevent slipping movement of the outsole relatively to the shoe bottom within the scope of my invention consists in sprinkling a relatively thin layer of a gritty friction-producing substance, for example, sand, upon a shoe bottom or upon the filler material of a shoe bottom at the forepart before the outsole is placed thereon. Whenthe outsole is attached by applying pressure to the cemented marginal portions of the shoe and sole the sand or other gritty material will create sufficient friction between the outsole and the shoe bottom to overcome any tendency of the sole to move relatively to the shoe. In other words, the engagement of the inner face of the outsole with the frictional surface on the shoe bottom tends to hold the sole in the position in which it was placed on the shoe and thus eliminates any danger of slipping movement of the sole relatively to the shoe bottom during the sole-attaching operation.

It is also within the scope of my invention to apply a friction producing material, such as sandpaper or sand, to the inner or attaching face of the outsole, instead of to the shoe bottom, prior to the attachment of the outsole, the sandpaper or other gritty material in this case being stuck to the outsole by any suitable adhesive before the outsole is positioned on the shoe bottom. Another variation of the method consists in introducing loosely between the insole and outsole a sheet of sand or emery paper both sides of which have sanded or roughened surfaces so that while the sandpaper is not actualy secured to the shoe bottom it will nevertheless prevent relative slippage between the insole and outsole after they are brought into engagement with each other and during the pressure-applying operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in methods of cementattaching soles to shoes which consists in preventing slipping of an outsole relatively to a shoe bottom during the attachment of the outsole by introducing gritty material between the outsole and the shoe bottom independently of any filling material that might be used, and pressing the outsole against the shoe bottom to effect its permanent attachment thereto while maintaining the relative positions of the shoe bottom and the outsole by the friction produced between the outsole and shoe bottom by said gritty material.

2. That improvement in methods of cementattaching soles to shoes which consists in preventing slipping of the inner surface of an outsole relatively to the bottom surface of the shoe by sprinkling gritty friction-producing material on one of said surfaces prior to the attachment of the outsole to the shoe, positioning the outsole on the shoe bottom, and thereafter applying pressure to the shoe and outsole to effect permanent attachment of the outsole to the shoe while the friction produced by the gritty material under pressure keeps the outsole from slipping on the bottom surface of the shoe.

3. That improvement in methods of cementattaching soles to shoes which consists in preventing slipping between the attaching surface of an outsole and the bottom surface of a shoe by securing a piece of sandpaper to one of said surfaces with its sanded side exposed, locating the outsole on the shoe bottom, and applying pressure to the outsole to attach it to the shoe bottom while the friction resulting from the presence of the sandpaper between said surfaces prevents the outsole from slipping relatively to the shoe while the cement between said surfaces is wet.

4. That improvement in methods of cementattaching soles to shoes which consists in preventing slipping of an outsole relatively to a shoe bottom by securing a piece of sandpaper to the forepart of the shoe bottom prior to the attachment of the outsole, positioning the outsole on the shoe bottom, and, while the outsole is thus held against slipping by the friction of the sandpaper bearing against the outsole, applying pressure to the shoe and outsole to attach the latter permanently to the shoe bottom.

5. That improvement in methods of making shoes having cement-attached outsoles which consists in sprinkling a gritty friction-producing substance on the filler material at the forepart of a shoe bottom within the area bounded by the overlasted margins of the shoe upper, and cementattaching an outsole to the shoe bottom while the friction resulting from the presence of said gritty substance holds the sole against slipping relatively to the shoe bottom.

6. That improvement in methods of making shoes having cement-attached outsoles which consists in introducing a piece of sandpaper having gritty surfaces on both sides between a shoe and its outsole prior to the attachment of said outsole, properly locating the sole relatively to the shoe, and, while pressing the outsole against the sandpaper to prevent the outsole from slipping on the shoe bottom, pressing the marginal portions of the sole against the shoe bottom to cause the sole to become permanently attached to the shoe.

SIDNEY J. FINN 

